Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the evidential basis for the statement by the Secretary of State for International Development, Mr Andrew Mitchell, at the consultation meeting to inform his department's business plan on reproductive, maternal and newborn health, that 70,000 women die annually from unsafe abortions.

Baroness Verma: The evidential basis for the Secretary of State's statement at the consultation meeting is the latest updated statistics published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on unsafe abortion (WHO and HRP 2010. Unsafe Abortion in 2008: Global and Regional Levels and Trends). This is based in part on data from the Guttmacher Institute (Singh S et al. Abortion Worldwide: A decade of uneven progress published in 2009). Globally in 2008, an estimated 22 million unsafe abortions took place. Nearly all of these were in developing countries, and resulted in about 70,000 deaths of women and girls.

Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Secretary of State for International Development, Mr Andrew Mitchell, made at the consultation meeting to inform his department's business plan on reproductive, maternal and newborn health, why the business plan will not take into account the moral issues surrounding abortion.

Baroness Verma: The Department for International Development's (DfID's) external consultation for its new reproductive, maternal and newborn health business plan actively sought comments on the full continuum of care, including on neglected and sensitive issues. This included the issues of safe and unsafe abortion.
	Comments for and against legal abortion were received. All comments received are helping DfID develop a new business plan, grounded in the best available evidence and research.

Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence they have that increasing access to abortion will prevent the deaths of (a) mothers, and (b) newborn children, in countries which receive Department for International Development funding; how they reached that conclusion; and what is their forecast of how many additional abortions of unborn children will occur in 2010, compared with 2009.

Baroness Verma: Statistics published in the World Health Organisation's (WHO's) 2010 report Unsafe Abortion 2008: Global and Regional Levels and Trends estimate that nearly 70,000 women die each year following unsafe abortion, and a further 5 million are hospitalised for the treatment of serious complications. This report is based on evidence and data from a range of sources, including the Guttmacher Institute report Abortion Worldwide-A Decade of Uneven Progress, published in 2009, which draws on the most recent global, regional and country-level statistics available on the incidence of unsafe abortion. There are no available forecasts on the number of abortions likely to occur in 2010 compared with 2009.

Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent reports they have received of countries where the law on abortion was liberalised following support and guidance from United Kingdom Government (a) advisers, and (b) funded bodies.

Baroness Verma: The Department for International Development (DfID) has received no recent country-specific reports. The recent report by the Guttmacher Institute, Abortion Worldwide: a decade of uneven progress, provides information on worldwide trends in abortion legislation since 1997. DfID is also aware of information produced by the Center for Reproductive Rights.
	DfID does not support abortion as a method of family planning. We believe the best way to eliminate unsafe abortion is to provide access to family planning information, services and supplies and to ensure that women have more control over the circumstances in which they have sex. In countries where abortion is legal, DfID will support programmes that make abortion safe and accessible. In countries where abortion is illegal and women are dying due to unsafe abortion, DfID will help make the consequences of unsafe abortion more widely understood and will consider supporting processes of legal and policy reform.

Advisory Committee on Business Appointments

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the 2009-10 annual report of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments will be published.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Government expect the committee's annual report for 2009-10 to be published shortly.

Agriculture: Eggs

The Earl of Shrewsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support United Kingdom egg producers in view of the impending implementation of the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive.

Lord Henley: The UK Government will continue to support the UK egg industry by standing firm on our position to oppose any delay to the 2012 ban on conventional cages and by continuing to press the European Commission for robust enforcement measures to be put in place to protect those UK producers who have invested heavily in complying with the legislation by the deadline.

Armed Forces: A400M

Lord Gilbert: To ask Her Majesty's Government what contribution they estimate will be made to their plans for reducing the national deficit by the planned acquisition of the A400M aircraft.

Lord Astor of Hever: The decision to acquire A400M was based on the UK's requirement to bring into service a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities. The strategic defence and security review confirmed that A400M represented the optimum means to meet the UK's future airlift requirements and that there was scope to retire the C130J fleet early. The decision to purchase A400M, therefore, was not directly related to reducing the deficit.

Armed Forces: Aircraft

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they define high readiness in the context of Tornado, Typhoon and Joint Strike Fighter aircraft; and what proportion of the fleets of Harrier, Tornado F-3 and GR-4, and Typhoon are currently at high readiness.

Lord Astor of Hever: I am withholding this information as its release would or would be likely to prejudice the capability and effectiveness of the Armed Forces.

Armed Forces: Cadets

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what reductions in funding are proposed for cadet organisations as a result of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Lord Astor of Hever: The strategic defence and security review makes a firm commitment to maintain the important role of the MoD sponsored cadet and university units and there are no direct reductions planned against their budgets. However, the Ministry of Defence must reduce its budget by 7.5 per cent and efficiency measures taken elsewhere may impact upon the delivery of the cadet programme. The department is now in the process of completing its annual planning round which will allocate programme budgets. This will conclude in early 2011.

Armed Forces: Cyprus Accommodation

Lord Morris of Aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the works on sewerage, electricity and other necessary work on the Ledra Palace Hotel, Cyprus, are on target to be completed by December 2010 to ensure that the accommodation for British military personnel is up to a satisfactory standard.

Lord Astor of Hever: The renovation and refurbishment of the Ledra Palace Hotel continues as part of a programme agreed between the Republic of Cyprus and the UN. Substantial improvements have already been made or completed to the standard of accommodation for British personnel, including: the replacement of the roof, the repair of the boiler room that has resulted in improvements to the provision of hot water, and the upgrading of the electrical system.
	The renovation work was expected to be completed by 31 December 2010. However, the way in which the rooms are wired and plumbed together has meant that renovations are proceeding more slowly than planned. The project schedule is currently being reassessed by the Republic of Cyprus in consultation with the UN. No revised estimate of the expected completion date has yet been issued. UN officials will discuss this with Cypriot officials shortly in order to take this forward. To date 61 rooms have been refurbished.

Armed Forces: Support Ships

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total procurement cost of the Bay class of amphibious support ships; when each ship came into service; what are the average annual running costs of a Bay class ship; and whether any financial penalties will be incurred as a result of the reduction of contractor support on the withdrawal from service of one of the class.

Lord Astor of Hever: The total procurement cost of the Bay class of amphibious support ships was £660 million. The first ship to enter service was RFA "Mounts Bay" in July 2006, which was followed by RFA "Largs Bay" in November 2006, RFA "Cardigan Bay" in December 2006 and RFA "Lyme Bay" in November 2007.
	The average annual running cost of a Bay class ship, based on the expenditure incurred by the department in 2009-10, is approximately £17 million.
	As stated in the strategic defence and security review, one of the Bay class of ships will be decommissioned. There will be no financial penalties incurred as a result of the associated reduction in contractor support. This is because the provision of long-term maintenance for the ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is based on partnering agreements with industry and no financial commitment is made until each maintenance period is placed on contract with the partners.

Armed Forces: Support Ships

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have considered converting a Bay class ship for any other necessary maritime support role.

Lord Astor of Hever: Ships of the Bay class are already able to fulfil roles in addition to their main amphibious support function. For example, RFA Largs Bay provided humanitarian relief to Haiti earlier this year and Lyme Bay is presently supporting mine countermeasures ships in the Gulf. We have no plans to convert any Bay class ships specifically for these or other roles.

Artists' Resale Right

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Wilcox on 1 November (WA 341), whether they oversee the level of charges levied by the Design and Artists Copyright Society to collect and distribute artists' resale rights, or the uses to which it puts the funds that it retains, given that it is appointed by the Government to collect rights on behalf of all those artists not registered with other collection agencies; and, if not, why not.

Baroness Wilcox: The artist's resale right may only be exercised through a collecting society. The applicable legislative framework is the 2001 EU directive1 on artist's resale right, which is implemented in the UK by the Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006.
	Under the 2006 regulations, where the holder of the resale right has not transferred the management of that right (including the collection of resale royalty) to a collecting society, the collecting society which manages copyright on behalf of artists is deemed to be mandated to collect resale royalties. Where there is more than one such collecting society, the holder of the resale right may choose which of those societies is mandated. The Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) cannot, therefore, be said to be "appointed by the Government to collect rights on behalf of all those artists not registered with other collection agencies".
	In the case of all collecting societies, including DACS, the level of administrative charges imposed for royalty collection services is a matter for the society concerned, although my department encourages all collecting societies to operate fairly and transparently.
	1 Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the resale right for the benefit of the author of an original work of art.

Artists' Resale Right

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements are in place to oversee artists' resale rights collecting societies operating in the United Kingdom.

Baroness Wilcox: Collecting societies, such as the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS), are private members' organisations. These societies act on behalf of their members to collect copyright royalties.
	There is no direct government regulation of collecting societies as such, but those who collect artists' resale right need to operate within the framework of the relevant legislation, namely the Artist Resale Right Directive1 implemented by the Artist Resale Right Regulations 2006.
	1 Directive of the European Parliament and of the council on the resale right for the benefit of the author of an original work of art.

Asylum Seekers

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Neville-Jones on 8 November (WA 4-5) and 21 October (WA 201-2), whether they will state the precise annual figures for those applicants granted asylum or turned down for asylum each year since 2000 in the various categories mentioned; and what is the overall total for those years, as was stated in relation to dependants, rather than making reference to a web page where the precise figures are not present.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The attached table shows applications received for asylum in the United Kingdom and initial decisions for the years 2000 to 2009, for main applicants, dependants and the overall total. I also refer the noble Lord to my letter of 16 November, and will place a copy into the Library.
	The figures in the table are for initial decisions on asylum applications made at port and in country and exclude all subsequent decisions. They are shown by year of decision, initial decisions by year of application not being available. These data are from published National Statistics (Table 2.2 Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom, 2009).
	Data stating the annual figure for the outcome of these asylum claims grouped by the categories referred to in the Written Answer of 21 October (Official Report, col. WA201-2) cannot be provided. Data are not available prior to 2004 because a bio-metric identifier was not taken from visa applicants at that time and it is not possible to link the visa application to a subsequent asylum application. Data covering the period since 2004 are held on two separate databases, not collated centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Table 1 Applications (1) received for asylum in the United Kingdom by category, initial decisions and percentages, 2000 to 2009 
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009(P) 
			 Excluding dependants   
			 Applications received (2) 80,315 71,025 84,130 49,405 33,960 25,710 23,610 23,430 25,930 24,485 
			 Initial decisions   
			 Total 109,205 120,950 83,540 64,940 46,020 27,395 20,930 21,775 19,400 24,285 
			 Granted asylum 10,375 11,450 8,270 3,865 1,565 1,940 2,170 3,545 3,725 4,190 
			 Granted exceptional leave to remain, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave (3) 11,495 20,190 20,135 7,210 3,995 2,800 2,305 2,200 2,165 2,555 
			 Refused asylum, ELR, HP and DL 75,680 89,310 55,130 53,865 40,465 22,655 16,460 16,030 13,505 17,545 
			 Granted exceptional leave under backlog criteria (4)(5) 10,325 : : : : : : : : : 
			 Refused on non-compliance grounds under backlog criteria (4)(6) 1,335 : : : : : : : : : 
			 Percentages of initial decisions considered under normal procedures (7)   
			 Total (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) 
			 Granted asylum (11) (9) (10) (6) (3) (7) (10) (16) (19) (17) 
			 Granted exceptional leave to remain, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave (3) (12) (17) (24) (11) (9) (10) (11) (10) (11) (11) 
			 Refused asylum, ELR, HP and DL (78) (74) (66) (83) (88) (83) (79) (74) (70) (72) 
			 Granted exceptional leave under backlog criteria (4)(5) (89) : : : : : : : : : 
			 Refused on non-compliance grounds under backlog criteria (4)(6) (11) : : : : : : : : : 
			 Applications withdrawn 1,720 2,400 1,490 1,835 2,205 2,545 1,780 1,230 2,740 3,345 
			 Dependants (8)   
			 Applications received (2) 18,555 20,525 18,950 10,640 6,665 5,130 4,715 4,870 5,380 6,185 
			 Initial decisions   
			 Total 23,720 34,955 19,910 15,430 9,370 5,815 4,545 4,890 4,400 6,670 
			 Granted asylum 1,765 3,310 2,720 1,515 595 530 465 950 1,055 1,400 
			 Granted exceptional leave to remain, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave (3) 1,150 5,835 2,330 590 200 155 105 120 140 245 
			 Refused asylum, ELR, HP and DL 16,650 25,810 14,860 13,320 8,575 5,130 3,975 3,820 3,200 5,025 
			 Granted exceptional leave under backlog criteria (4)(5) 3,720 : : : : : : : : : 
			 Refused on non-compliance grounds under backlog criteria (4)(6) 440 : : : : : : : : : 
			 Percentages of initial decisions considered under normal procedures (7)   
			 Total (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) 
			 Granted asylum (7) (9) (14) (10) (6) (9) (10) (19) (24) (21) 
			 Granted exceptional leave to remain, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave (3) (5) (17) (12) (4) (2) (3) (2) (2) (3) (4) 
			 Refused asylum, ELR, HP and DL (70) (74) (75) (86) (92) (88) (87) (78) (73) (75) 
			 Granted exceptional leave under backlog criteria (4)(5) (16) : : : : : : : : : 
			 Refused on non-compliance grounds under backlog criteria (4)(6) (2) : : : : : : : : : 
			 Including dependants (8)   
			 Applications received (2) 98,900 91,600 103,080 60,045 40,625 30,840 28,320 28,300 31,315 30,675 
			 Initial decisions   
			 Total 132,925 155,900 103,450 80,370 55,390 33,210 25,475 26,665 23,795 30,955 
			 Granted asylum 12,135 14,755 10,990 5,380 2,160 2,470 2,630 4,495 4,780 5,590 
			 Granted exceptional leave to remain, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave (3) 12,645 26,025 22,470 7,805 4,195 2,955 2,410 2,315 2,310 2,800 
			 Refused asylum, ELR, HP and DL 92,330 115,120 69,990 67,185 49,040 27,780 20,430 19,850 16,705 22,570 
			 Granted exceptional leave under backlog criteria (4)(5) 14,045 : : : : : : : : : 
			 Refused on non-compliance grounds under backlog criteria (4)(6) 1,775 : : : : : : : : : 
			 Percentages of initial decisions considered under normal procedures (7)   
			 Total (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) 
			 Granted asylum (10) (9) (11) (7) (4) (7) (10) (17) (20) (18) 
			 Granted exceptional leave to remain, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave (3) (11) (17) (22) (10) (8) (9) (9) (9) (10) (9) 
			 Refused asylum, ELR, HP and DL (79) (74) (68) (84) (89) (84) (80) (74) (70) (73) 
			 Granted exceptional leave under backlog criteria (4)(5) (89) : : : : : : : : : 
			 Refused on non-compliance grounds under backlog criteria (4)(6) (11) : : : : : : : : : 
			 Applications withdrawn 2,080 3,090 1,825 2,205 3,520 3,440 2,050 1,400 2,990 3,560 
		
	
	(1) Figures (other than percentages) rounded to the nearest 5 ( - = 0, * = 1 or 2) and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding.
	(2) May exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices before March 2000.
	(3) Humanitarian Protection (HP) and Discretionary Leave (DL) replaced Exceptional leave to Remain from 1 April 2003.
	(4) Cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum application backlog.
	(5) Includes cases where asylum or exceptional leave has been granted under the backlog criteria.
	(6) Includes some cases where the application was refused on substantive grounds.
	(7) Percentages for cases considered under normal procedures and those within the backlog clearance exercise are calculated separately.
	(8) The figures for 2000 and 2001 figures are estimated. They include dependants who applied with the principal applicant and those who arrived subsequently but before the principal application was decided. Figures from 2002 are based on actual data and therefore rounded to the nearest 5. Previous dependants applications figures are rounded to the nearest 100 due to being an estimation.
	(P) Provisional figures.
	: Not applicable.

Asylum Seekers

Baroness Howells of St Davids: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the issuing of Community Treatment Orders to asylum seekers and black and minority ethnic people.

Earl Howe: The Government intend to keep the use of community treatment orders under review, and to take any action shown to be necessary.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the risk weighting proposed under Basel III for trade finance; and what steps they will take to ensure that it will not disadvantage United Kingdom banks compared with banks based elsewhere.

Lord Sassoon: The Government welcome the endorsement by G20 leaders in Seoul of the Basel reforms to global capital and liquidity standards, which are essential to strengthen financial stability. Basel III introduces a requirement to hold more high-quality capital against all exposures, including trade finance products. The Basel III reforms do not increase the relative capital required for trade finance exposures. G20 leaders have agreed to evaluate the impact of regulatory regimes on trade finance. Detailed questions about the UK's stance at the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision should be directed to the UK representatives-that is, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 8 November (WA 5), what impact quantitative easing has had on banking industry profits.

Lord Sassoon: As I have noted in a previous Answer [HL3031], the overall aim of quantitative easing (QE) was to avoid the substantial risk that inflation would undershoot the target in the medium term. The Bank of England has published several assessments on the channels through which QE is expected to work (for example Quantitative Easing Explained) and on evidence of its impact (see the May 2010 Inflation Report).

Banking: Cheques

Lord Rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received about plans by the banks to phase out the use of cheques by 2018; what is their assessment of those plans; and how they are using their influence with (a) the banks that they largely or partially own, and (b) other banks, to act upon representations made to them.

Lord Sassoon: The banking industry has given a clear public assurance, through the Payments Council, that cheque facilities will not be withdrawn unless and until suitable alternatives are in place.

Banking: Iceland

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 1 November (WA 344-5), what sanctions are available if a new agreement cannot be reached with Iceland over the repayment of funds; and whether they would support Iceland's entry to the European Union regardless of whether agreement is reached on the repayment of moneys due.

Lord Sassoon: The negotiations to repay the loan made by the previous Government in respect of Iceland's obligations under the Deposit Guarantee Directive to UK depositors in Icesave are ongoing.
	Under the European Directive 94/14/EC on deposit guarantee schemes (DGS), Iceland has an international obligation to establish a compensation scheme which can provide compensation of €20,887 per depositor. This is a European Economic Area (EEA) obligation. DGS are an important pillar of the European financial architecture and essential for safeguarding financial stability. It is therefore crucial that the minimum protection level for depositors is guaranteed by all EEA member states.
	The UK continues to support Iceland's bid for EU membership. Like other candidates, Iceland must meet the EU membership criteria, including meeting the Copenhagen Criteria and fully implementing its EEA obligations. The June European Council Conclusions make it clear that Iceland must meet these obligations by resolving the Icesave issue during the negotiations.

Banking: Northern Rock

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government why United Kingdom Financial Investments and HM Treasury sought to place Mr Gary Hoffman of Northern Rock on "gardening leave" contrary to his wishes; and what total cost would have been incurred had this decision not been reversed on the insistence of Mr Hoffman.

Lord Sassoon: Gary Hoffman has been placed on "gardening leave" for reasons of commercial confidentiality. Northern Rock assessed that it would not be in the best interests of the company and therefore of the taxpayer for Mr Hoffman to take up a position in NBNK Investments, a company with ambitions to acquire UK banking assets, immediately after leaving his current position as chief executive of Northern Rock plc, where he was in possession of commercially sensitive information.
	Mr Hoffman has subsequently chosen to waive his contractual entitlement to pay and other benefits during his gardening leave. Had Mr Hoffman not waived this, Northern Rock plc would have been contractually obliged to pay him his salary and additional benefits amounting to £496,420.

Banks: Green Investment Bank

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many loans have been granted by the Green Investment Bank since its formation.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average amount lent by the Green Investment Bank since its formation.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average rate of interest charged by the Green Investment Bank since its formation.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the largest amount lent by the Green Investment Bank since its formation.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the smallest amount lent by the Green Investment Bank since its formation.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications for loans have been rejected by the Green Investment Bank since its formation.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many private investments have been made to the Green Bank since its formation.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the amount invested in the Green Bank since its formation.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average rate of interest paid on private investment in the Green Bank since its formation.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they forecast the Green Bank will begin lending to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Baroness Wilcox: The green investment bank (GIB) has yet to be established. We are committed to completing the design of the green investment bank (GIB), and conduct further market testing by spring 2011, with the GIB being operational by September 2012.
	All decisions on its business and operating model will be subject to the Government's tests of effectiveness, affordability and transparency.

Banks: Green Investment Bank

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what terms are offered for private investment in the Green Bank.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration has been given for new equity in the Green Bank.

Baroness Wilcox: Further design and testing work are being undertaken to ensure that the green investment bank (GIB) is effective in mobilising additional private sector investment into green infrastructure projects. All decisions on the GIB's business and operating model are subject to the Government's tests of effectiveness, affordability and transparency.

Care Homes

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the standard of nursing homes in light of the finding by the Care Quality Commission that one in five homes are of poor quality.

Earl Howe: According to the report, The Adult Social Care Market and the Quality of Services, published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 9 November, the CQC, as at 31 March 2010, rated 83 per cent of care and nursing homes as "good" or "excellent", 16 per cent as "adequate" and 1 per cent as "poor", according to the registration system in force at the time, under the Care Standards Act 2000.
	The report is available on the CQC's website at: www.cqc.org.uk/publications.cfm?fde_id=16477.

Care Services: Elderly People

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to reform the way care for the elderly is funded.

Earl Howe: As announced in July, the Government have established an independent Commission to make recommendations on how to achieve an affordable and sustainable funding system or systems for care and support, for all adults in England, both in the home and other settings. The Commission on the Funding of Care and Support is chaired by Andrew Dilnot and has been asked to deliver practical and deliverable recommendations within a year (July 2011). The Commission should build on the extensive existing body of work in this area and provide advice on how to implement its chosen options.

Cayman Islands: Aarhus Convention

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the provisions of the Aarhus Convention, to which the United Kingdom is a party, apply to the Cayman Islands; and, if so, what steps have been taken to implement them there.

Lord Henley: The United Kingdom's instrument of ratification of the Aarhus Convention has not been extended to the Cayman Islands. We do invite our overseas territories to join in our instruments of ratification to multilateral environmental agreements. However, this is a matter for them to decide.

Civil Service: Redundancy

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 25 October (WA 223-4), whether they will publish the details and results of the negotiation with trade unions on redundancy which included a limit of 21 months' pay for those leaving on a voluntary basis to replace that of 15 months; and whether they will table consequential amendments to the Superannuation Bill.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The discussions between the Government and the unions were carried out on a confidential basis. The results of those discussions were announced on 7 October.
	The Government intend that the proposed new scheme will be used instead of the limits in the Superannuation Bill. A consequential amendment to the Bill is not therefore needed.

Coalition Policies

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Strathclyde on 8 November (Official Report, col. 6), which stated that the Government's responses to the consultation on the Programme for Government were available on departments' websites, why responses on (a) crime and equalities, (b) Europe, (c) families and children, (d) foreign affairs, (e) government transparency, (f) civil liberties, (g) immigration, (h) national security, (i) the National Health Service, (j) political reform, (k) public health, (l) schools, (m) social action, (n) social care and disabilities, and (o) transport, no longer appear on departmental websites; and what plans they have to reinstate them.

Lord Strathclyde: All of the responses referred to in the Question are still available on departmental websites. I have asked for a page to be created on the Cabinet Office site which clearly links to each of the departmental responses. Links to some departmental responses on the archived version of The Coalition: Our Programme for Government may not work. This is because the technology used to archive websites has difficulty capturing content held on sites other than the "target" site. I have asked the National Archives to investigate a solution to this.

Common Agricultural Policy

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to meet European Commission representatives to discuss the forthcoming European Commission green paper on future Common Agriculture Policy reforms.

Lord Henley: My honourable friend the Minister of State (Jim Paice) will attend the Agriculture Council in Brussels on 29 November, where there will be a first discussion on the European Commission's proposals (published on 18 November) on the future common agricultural policy. We will continue to engage actively with the European Commission, European Parliament and other member states throughout the duration of the negotiations.

Education: Funding

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the proposed central budget allocation for the administration and support of the Academies programme and the Free Schools programme.

Lord Hill of Oareford: At this stage, detailed funding allocations for the Spending Review period, financial year 2011-12 to financial year 2014-15, have not been determined. Once determined, we will be able to calculate the proposed central budget allocation for administration support of the Academies and Free Schools programmes.

Education: Funding

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (a) primary, and (b) secondary schools, will receive less than a 0.1 per cent increase in their budgets following the introduction of the Dedicated Schools Grant during the next spending review period.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Following the outcome of the spending review on 20 October, we are protecting overall school funding in the system at flat cash per pupil before adding the pupil premium. Flat cash per pupil means that as pupil numbers go up, the overall budget goes up in line.
	The pupil premium is in addition to this and will be worth £2.5 billion by 2014-15. All schools with deprived children will benefit from the pupil premium, and the premium itself will not cause any school to receive a cash cut in its budget.
	Combined, these measures mean we will increase funding for the schools budget by £3.6 billion in cash terms by the end of the period, a 0.1 per cent real-terms increase in each year of the spending review.
	The actual level of budget for each individual school will vary-it will depend on each school's specific circumstances and local decisions about how best to meet needs. This does mean that some schools may see cash cuts in their budgets-either because they have fewer pupils or because changes are made by their local authority to the distribution of funding.
	It is not possible at this stage to determine how many schools will receive less than a 0.1 per cent increase in their budgets.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 13 October 2010 (WA 73-74), how many incidents of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) have been reported by clinics whenever a patient had been hospitalised (a) over each of the last two years, and (b) between 1999 and 2003; and how many incidents of OHSS have been reported to the HFEA whenever a licensed clinic became aware of OHSS that is less severe over the same time periods.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the number of cases of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) reported as adverse incidents to the HFEA by licensed clinics for each of the periods requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Year Number of cases of OHSS reported as adverse incidents 
			 1999-2003 0 
			 2008 64 
			 2009 114 
		
	
	Licensed centres are required to report to the HFEA the occurrence of any adverse incident, which includes OHSS that requires a hospital admission and has a severity grading of severe or critical. Licensed centres are not required to report to the HFEA cases of OHSS that do not require admission to hospital.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Thornton on 24 March (WA 293-4) regarding "category A incidents" and witnessing procedures, how many incidents have been reported annually to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) in which embryos were transferred to the wrong womb; how the HFEA ensures that clinics automatically report all such cases as incidents in the light of the dismissal of Bea Pavlovic from her post as a clinical embryologist at Guy's Hospital London pursuant to her whistleblowing actions; and how this eliminates any possibility that embryos used in research could be used in treatment at the same centre if the same personnel are involved in both activities.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that, since 2007, three incidents involving the transfer of the wrong embryos to a patient have been reported to the HFEA. Requirements for reporting adverse incidents are set out in HFEA Directions 0011. Requirements and guidance relating to witnessing of clinical and laboratory procedures are set out in the HFEA's Code of Practice (guidance note 18). Both the Directions and Code of Practice are published on the HFEA's website. There is no link between the directions or the Code of Practice and the dismissal of Bea Pavlovic, which is not a matter for the HFEA.
	It is a requirement of Section 15(4) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 that no embryo appropriated for the purposes of any project of research shall be kept or used otherwise than for the purposes of such a project.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what reports they have received of treatments for (a) children and (b) adults with disabling conditions, developed as a result of (1) human embryo, (2) embryonic stem cell, and (3) non-embryonic stem cell research since 2001.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what reports they have received of progress in developing cures for diseases as a result of (a) adult stem cell, (b) embryonic stem cell, and (c) human embryo research since July 2001.

Earl Howe: The department does not routinely receive reports on treatments or cures developed using any type of stem cells.
	Research on adult stem cell therapies, such as bone marrow transplantation, has been undertaken for over half a century. The biological properties of these stem cells have been used over the past several decades to develop a number of highly successful treatments including bone marrow transplants-for leukaemias and other haematopoietic conditions, corneal transplants, related donor cord blood transplants and skin grafting.

Embryology

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government what attempts have been made by government to combine the Human Tissue Authority with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority over the past five years; and why such amalgamation did not take place.

Earl Howe: The review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 Act, between 2004 and 2008, included a proposal to replace the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) with the Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos (RATE).
	The Joint Committee on the Human Tissue and Embryos (Draft) Bill, which considered the views of major stakeholders, recommended abandonment of this particular proposal. The committee took the view that greater savings, consistency and co-operation might be achieved through closer working between the HFEA and HTA. This proposal was subsequently removed from the Bill.

Employment

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage employment of low-skilled young people.

Lord Freud: The Government are committed to ensuring that people looking for work are supported to improve their labour market relevant skills, to help them get sustainable employment.
	BIS has recently announced in Skills for Sustainable Growth, that we will continue to fully fund training for young people aged 19 up to 24 without a first full level 2 or 3 qualification to support them in making the transition from education to work. For those on active benefits, there will be state subsidised pre-employment training to support people to obtain work. This could be single units from the Qualifications and Credits Framework or full qualifications depending on what the individual needs.
	We will also make sure there are clear routes into apprenticeships to widen access to the programme and increase the numbers of young people who have the skills and attributes to secure and complete an apprenticeship with an employer.

Energy: Carbon Emissions

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will take steps to encourage the alignment of carbon reduction targets established by higher education institutions with those set by the Funding Council; and what pattern of public funding inducements and penalties will be applied in order to achieve those targets.

Lord Henley: The higher education carbon reduction target and strategy was published in January 2010. This strategy includes a sector-level target of a 34 per cent reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2020 against a 1990 baseline. Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions that occur from sources owned or controlled by the organisation-for example, emissions from combustion in owned or controlled boilers, furnaces and vehicles. Scope 2 emissions are from the generation of purchased electricity. This target was not set by the Higher Education Funding Council for England but was instead agreed by the sector after widespread consultation.
	Higher education institutions (HEIs) in England are required to have carbon management plans under the terms of the financial memorandum between HEFCE and HEIs. Carbon management plans are also required in order to access any capital funding that may be available from April 2011. These plans are required to include a publicly available institutional target for an absolute reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2020 against a 2005 baseline; an implementation plan to achieve reductions; a commitment to monitor progress and report publicly annually; and for the plan to be signed off by the governing body.
	Institutions submitted 2020 carbon reduction targets to HEFCE as part of their submission under the capital investment framework. The targets will be analysed to establish the overall sector trajectory and this information will be published by the end of 2010. The level of institutional targets varies to reflect the contribution that different institutions can make to the sector-level target. If the collective ambition of the institutional targets does not meet the sector-level target HEFCE will consider what action to take.
	Many institutions are already reducing their own carbon footprint through energy efficiency, increasing use of sustainable goods and services, and better environmental management. They are required to comply with legislation such as the carbon reduction commitment, building regulations and display energy certificates.

Energy: Gas

Lord Fearn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards are in place to ensure security of gas supplies from key delivery partners in the United Kingdom.

Lord Marland: Security of gas supply is provided by the operation of a competitive market, in which the various participants have clearly defined responsibilities, overseen by Ofgem as the independent economic regulator charged to protect the interests of consumers.
	The Government propose to bring forward legislation, in the forthcoming Energy Security and Green Economy Bill, to give Ofgem a new power to introduce changes to sharpen the commercial incentives for energy supply companies to meet their contractual supply obligations during a Gas Supply Emergency. In turn, this should also sharpen incentives to avoid the occurrence of such an emergency and help underpin commercial demand for additional gas supply infrastructure such as storage facilities.

Energy: Nuclear Reactors

Lord Haworth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the long-term worldwide availability of uranium to fuel the new generation of nuclear reactors, particularly if spent nuclear fuel will not be reprocessed.

Lord Marland: The Government consider that there will be ample natural uranium resources available to fuel the next generation of nuclear power plants. This is based on the findings of authoritative international agencies.
	The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which regularly analyse uranium resources, have stated that, regardless of the role that nuclear energy ultimately plays in meeting rising electricity demand, the uranium resource base is more than adequate to meet projected requirements (REF. OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency (2010). Uranium 2009: Resources, Production and Demand). The Euratom Supply Agency has also expressed confidence that there are sufficient identified uranium resources to meet the current demand for about 100 years (REF. Euratom Supply Agency (2010). Euratom Supply Agency Annual Report 2009).

Finance: Interest Rates

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 2 November (WA 385), why the Bank of England does not cease to pay interest on bank reserves or apply a negative rate of interest to encourage lending.

Lord Sassoon: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) discussed the merits of changing the structure of remuneration on commercial bank reserves at its meeting on 4 and 5 November 2009. The Committee "noted that such an action would be unlikely to have a significant impact on the outlook given the already low levels of short-term market rates, and that asset purchases were currently a more effective instrument for affecting monetary conditions". The full minutes of the meeting are available at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/minutes/mpc/pdf/2009/mpc0911.pdf.

Fishing

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they propose to make to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea to include data-weak fishing species in its advisory system.

Lord Henley: The Government are keen to use the best available science as the basis for fisheries management under the Common Fisheries Policy, and supplies the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea with information on data-weak species to support future assessments and provision of scientific advice.

Food: Pork and Bacon

Lord Hoyle: To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to his Written Answer on 2 November (WA 385), whether the Refreshment Committee has recently consulted the House of Commons Refreshment Committee on the sources of their British bacon and the prices they pay for it.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: No, although officials in both Houses regularly discuss pricing issues. The House of Commons pays more and charges more for its bacon and, as previously explained, we do not believe that the use of British bacon is economically viable for the River Restaurant.

Forced Marriage

Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional support they will give to victims of forced marriages.

Lord Howell of Guildford: There is a cross-government approach to tackle the issue of forced marriages. The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) will shortly develop its new action plan for 2011-12 in consultation with other government departments and its voluntary sector partners.
	If a person is at risk of forced marriage or has already been forced into marriage they can seek support from the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), a joint Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office unit; and by applying for a forced marriage civil protection order under the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007.
	The FMU also provides funding to local projects, through its annual Domestic Programme Fund.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, William Hague, intends to visit Gaza.

Lord Howell of Guildford: My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has no immediate plans to visit Gaza. However, he discussed the situation in Gaza with Prime Minister Netanyahu during his recent visit to the region.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff have been employed on temporary or short-term contracts since 12 May to support the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills; what are the names of those employed; at what grade and what level of remuneration they were employed; and what selection criteria were used to determine their suitability for the post.

Baroness Wilcox: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not employed any individual on a temporary or short-term contract of 12 months or less since 12 May. Headline information on the number of staff employed on such a basis is published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and can be found at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Product.asp?vlnk=13615.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff have been employed on temporary or short-term contracts since 12 May to support the Secretary of State for Health; what are the names of those employed; at what grade and what level of remuneration they were employed; and what selection criteria were used to determine their suitability for the post.

Earl Howe: No staff have been employed to support the Secretary of State, on temporary or short-term contracts, since 12 May 2010.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the names of all unpaid advisers to Ministers in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Baroness Rawlings: There are no unpaid advisers to Ministers within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the names of all unpaid advisers to Ministers in the Government Equalities Office.

Baroness Verma: Ministers in the Government Equalities Office do not have any unpaid advisers.

Health: Cousin Marriage

Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the medical difficulties associated with cousin marriages.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to initiate any dialogue with community leaders about the health risks of cousin marriages.

Earl Howe: The department continues to support the work of the National Health Service in providing information to all couples at risk of genetic conditions to enable them to make informed choices.
	As part of the complementary work to the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, the department has published the Implementation Plan for Reducing Health Inequalities in Infant Mortality: A Good Practice Guide, a copy of which has been placed in the Library. The document provides details on how genetic screening and counselling services play an important part in this area. Specifically, it highlights the work of two projects funded by the department on how to provide appropriate genetic services and support to communities that practise cousin marriage.
	The department supports the work of NHS initiatives among communities with a higher prevalence of cousin marriage on a number of important issues. This includes initiatives delivered through regional NHS genetic counselling services that work to raise awareness of the risks associated with cousin marriage.
	Most couples in consanguineous relationships will have healthy children. Overall the risk of any given couple having a child with a severe genetic condition is still relatively small, estimated at 4 per cent for cousin marriages compared to 2 per cent for unrelated parents.

Health: Cousin Marriage

Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to give extra medical support to children born of parents from the same extended family.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage better relations between the medical profession and those groups within society among whom same-cousin marriages are prevalent.

Earl Howe: As with any situation where children need additional health care, an assessment should be made and based on clinical need commissioned by local National Health Service services.
	The department has supported development of local services specifically dealing with consanguineous relationships. This includes initiatives delivered through regional NHS genetic counselling services that work to raise awareness of the risks associated with cousin marriage.
	Most couples in consanguineous relationships will have healthy children. Overall the risk of any given couple having a child with a severe genetic condition is still relatively small, estimated at 4 per cent for cousin marriages compared to 2 per cent for unrelated parents.

Health: Drugs

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many recorded deaths there were in each of the past three years for individuals using (a) Class A, (b) Class B, or (c) Class C drugs.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director-General for ONS, to Lord Willis of Knaresborough, dated November 2010.
	As Director-General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many recorded deaths there were in each of the past three years for individuals using (a) Class A, (b) Class B or (c) Class C drugs. (HL4065)
	It is not possible to determine from information collected at death registration whether the deceased was a regular user of a specific category of drugs, since this information is not routinely recorded. Neither is it possible to determine the number of deaths of regular users of drugs which were attributed to other causes.
	However, the table attached provides the number of deaths related to drug poisoning where any drug in (a) Class A, (b) Class B or (c) Class C was mentioned on the death certificate, in England and Wales, for 2007 to 2009 (the latest year available).
	The number of deaths related to drug poisoning registered in England and Wales each year by sex, age, cause and specific substance are published annually on the National Statistics website at: www.statistics. gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=11695.
	
		
			 Table 1. Number of deaths attributed to drug poisoning1 where a drug classified to class A, B or C was mentioned on the death certificate,2 England and Wales, 3 2007-094 
			Persons 
			 Class 2007 2008 2009 
			 A 1,374 1,544 1,511 
			 B 70 88 88 
			 C 225 265 301 
		
	
	1 Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Deaths were included where the underlying cause was due to drug poisoning (corresponding ICD-10 codes are shown in Box 1 below) and where a drug classified as A, B or C was mentioned on the death certificate.
	2 Some deaths may be counted in more than one category, for example if heroin and cannabis are recorded on the death certificate the death will be counted once under class A and once under class B.
	3 Figures include deaths of non-residents.
	4 Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.
	
		
			 Box 1. International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes used to define drug-related poisoning deaths by underlying cause 
			 Description ICD-10 
			 Mental and behavioural disorders due to drug use (excluding alcohol and tobacco) F11-F16, F18-F19 
			 Accidental poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances X40-X44 
			 Intentional self-poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances X60-X64 
			 Assault by drugs, medicaments and biological substances X85 
			 Poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances, undetermined intent Y10-Y14 
		
	
	
		
			 Regional employment: by region and country of workplace Q2 20101 
			 Not seasonally adjusted; thousands 
			  Public Sector  Total 
			 Region Headcount3 Percentage Employment2 
			 London 782 18.7 4,172 
			 South East 684 17.3 3,957 
			 South West 518 20.3 2,551 
			 West Midlands 503 20.5 2,452 
			 North West 690 21.8 3,164 
			 North East 285 25.1 1,136 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 534 22.3 2,391 
			 East Midlands 384 19.5 1,973 
			 East of England 457 17.8 2,566 
			 Wales 343 26.5 1,296 
			 Scotland4 606 24.8 2,450 
			 Northern Ireland5 228 30.0 759 
			 England 4,838 19.9 24,361 
			 Great Britain 5,787 20.6 28,107 
			 United Kingdom6 6,048 20.8 29,142 
		
	
	1. Estimates are based on where people are employed.
	2. Labour Force Survey-All in employment aged 16 and over. Data refer to May to July 2010.
	3. Public sector estimates include banks reclassified to the public sector-Northern Rock from 9 October 2007, Bradford & Bingley from 26 September 2008, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group from 13 October 2008.
	4. Estimates of PSE for Scotland are supplied by Scottish Government and match those produced by Scottish Government on a quarterly basis.
	5. Estimates of PSE for Northern Ireland will differ to those published by DETINI; ONS figures include HM Forces personnel. In addition, ONS percentage figures use the Labour Force Survey employment as a denominator as opposed to the Quarterly Employment Survey employee estimate used by DETINI.
	6. Includes overseas employees, those who did not state their region of workplace when surveyed as part of the Labour Force Survey and approximately 30,000 public sector employees that could not be assigned to a region.

Health: EU Nationals

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 4 November (WA 438), what are the annual net and gross payments made to other European Economic Area countries under the European health insurance scheme; whether the United Kingdom pays other countries for United Kingdom nationals using their primary medical care services; how much this is estimated to be annually; and whether they intend to negotiate changes to existing European Union rules so that the United Kingdom's inability to charge for use of primary medical care services by European Economic Area nationals can be taken into account.

Earl Howe: The estimated value for European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) and other actual cost claims against the United Kingdom by member states for 2009-10 is £123 million; the corresponding total for UK claims against member states is £38 million.
	However, due to the nature of the claims system between member states, it is not possible to disaggregate claims totals by treatment type although it would be reasonable to assume a significant portion of that figure will be for primary care services.
	The European Union Regulations allow the UK to make claims for primary care and the department has recently introduced the facility for accident and emergency services to report EHIC data, which will allow the UK to make claims for primary care provided in that setting. The department is also exploring ways in which to introduce this to general practitioner services.

Higher Education: Funding

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current unit of funding to support 16-19-year-old students in further education colleges; and what will it be for each of the years of Spending Review 2010.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The base rate of funding for Further Education (FE) colleges for 2010-11 is £2,920, as announced in the YPLA 16-19 Statement of Priorities and Investment Strategy in January. This does not include the funding colleges receive to reflect the different types of students they recruit or the different kind of learning programmes they deliver. That differs from college to college and is therefore not part of the base rate unit of funding.
	We are currently working through the specifics of the 16-19 settlement for 2011-12 and are aiming to announce details before Christmas. However, this will not include funding rates for schools and colleges as these will need to be finalised as part of the allocations process due to be completed by 31 March 2011. The FE base rate of funding will be announced as part of this.

Homeless People

Lord Patel of Blackburn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help homeless people to find accommodation.

Baroness Hanham: This Government are committed to tackling and preventing homelessness. Grant Shapps, the Minister for Housing, has established a new cross-government working group on homelessness bringing together Ministers from eight government departments to address complex causes of homelessness and rough sleeping.
	The Minister for Housing announced that over the course of the Spending Review over £400 million of homelessness grant will be made available to local authorities and the Voluntary and Community Sector to support the most vulnerable and tackle homelessness.
	Government also announced that an additional £130 million would be made available, via the Department for Work and Pensions, to local authorities to administer Discretionary Housing Payments to provide extra support for households where needed in light of the Housing Benefit reforms. We have provided a further £10 million in this financial year to London local authorities to help support those families most at risk of homelessness.

Homelessness

Lord Fearn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to stop homelessness in seaside resorts during the next six months and during the summer of 2011.

Baroness Hanham: This Government are committed to tackling and preventing homelessness across the country. Grant Shapps, the Minister for Housing, has established a new cross-government working group on homelessness bringing together Ministers from eight government departments to address complex causes of homelessness and rough sleeping.
	The Minister for Housing also announced that over the course of the Spending Review over £400 million of homelessness grant will be made available to local authorities and the Voluntary and Community Sector to support the most vulnerable and tackle homelessness.

Homelessness

Lord Fearn: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all local housing authorities take their homelessness strategies into account in the exercise of their functions.

Baroness Hanham: All local housing authorities in England are required to take their homelessness strategy into account in the exercise of their functions, by virtue of Section 1(5) of the Homelessness Act 2002.

Housing

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hanham on 2 November (WA 387), what infrastructure projects valued at more than £250,000 have been provided in each of the four major growth areas of the South East; and how many potential dwellings associated with these projects have been planned, delivered or are due for delivery since 2005.

Baroness Hanham: In the three growth areas of Ashford, Milton Keynes South-Midlands and London-Stansted-Cambridge-Peterborough, the growth fund (2003-04 to 2007-08) has supported the delivery of close to 254 projects with a value greater than £250,000. Between 2008-09 and 2010-11 the growth fund was un-ring-fenced, and a detailed breakdown of projects is not currently available. The joint CLG/DfT community infrastructure fund (CIF) has supported the delivery of 54 transport schemes with a value greater than £250,000 over the period 2005-06 to 2010-11.
	Research carried out in 2009-10 suggests that projects funded by growth and CIF will support approximately 140,000 units over the next five to 10 years.
	In the Thames Gateway area 70 infrastructure projects have been supported with a value greater than £250,000, with total funding of circa £294 million. This investment will enable the delivery of around 5,900 houses directly and 69,500 indirectly, in the period up to 2026.

Housing

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of repossessions likely to occur over each of the next five years as a result of the reduction of support for mortgage payments introduced on 1 October.

Lord Freud: The standard interest rate used to calculate support for mortgage interest was fixed at 6.08 per cent by the last administration. That rate was too generous and resulted in the vast majority of people getting more than their eligible mortgage interest liability, which was unfair to taxpayers.
	The plans of the previous Government would have meant that the standard interest rate would have reverted to the formula of Bank of England Base rate plus 1.58 per cent from January 2011, which at present would produce a rate of 2.08 per cent.
	The Chancellor announced in the June 2010 Budget that the standard interest rate would be based on the Bank of England's published monthly average mortgage interest rate. Legislation to introduce this change came into effect from 1 October 2010 and the standard interest rate is currently 3.63 per cent.
	The department conducted thorough analysis on the likely impacts of this change, and we have included as much information as possible in the equality impact assessment published on the department's website: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/support-for-mortgage-interest.pdf
	The department is in the process of developing a model to estimate the impact of changes to support for mortgage interest on the number of repossessions. However, any estimates will always be limited since detailed case-by-case information, such as arrears at the start of a claim, is not collected by the department. The department will consider whether the results can be used publicly once this is work is complete.
	The Council of Mortgage Lenders has told the department that it expects lenders to continue to exercise forbearance where it is fair to do so for the borrower, and the borrower has a chance of paying off any arrears in the future. The Council of Mortgage Lenders thinks that where arrears levels increase for some borrowers as a result of the change in the standard interest rate this does not translate into an immediate possession risk.
	At the comprehensive spending review 2010, the Chancellor announced funding for a one-year extension to the temporary package of support for mortgage interest changes that had been due to expire in January 2011. This extension maintains the waiting period for new working age claimants at 13 weeks and the limit on eligible mortgage capital at £200,000, and provides additional support to homeowners facing difficulties.

Housing Benefit

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they can give an estimate of the number of families who will have to move out of their homes due to the housing benefit cuts.

Lord Freud: The department published a document on the Impacts of Housing Benefit proposals: Changes to the Local Housing Allowance to be introduced in 2011-12 on the 23 July. This gives details of the impacts at local authority level. A copy of the document has been placed in the Library. However, we are unable to provide an estimate of the number of households that may move as a consequence of the proposed reforms because it is not possible to assess behavioural effects among tenants and landlords.
	We are working closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the devolved Administrations to assist tenants through the transition. For example, we have trebled the discretionary housing payment funding to local authorities. We are working with local authorities and providing them with a communications tool kit which will help them raise awareness so tenants can consider their options before they are affected.

Housing: Council Houses

Lord German: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to change the policy preventing local authorities from retaining excess rent on council housing.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current state of negotiations with the National Assembly for Wales about a change in policy regarding excess rent from council housing.

Baroness Hanham: On 5 October my right honourable friend, the Minister for Housing, announced his intention to replace the present system of council housing finance in England with a system of self-financing through the localism Bill. The spending review reaffirmed this commitment. Under self-financing councils will keep all the rent they raise from their tenants. The Government will publish further details of self-financing shortly.
	The Government are in discussion with Ministers in the Welsh Assembly Government to ensure that provisions on council housing finance in the localism Bill are appropriate for Wales.

Iceland

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 2 November (WA 380), what is the size of the debt due to the United Kingdom acknowledged by the Government of Iceland, and what is HM Treasury's estimate of the interest accrued to date on this debt.

Lord Sassoon: In a letter of intent sent to the International Monetary Fund on 7 April 2010, Iceland acknowledged its obligation to repay sums paid out by the United Kingdom, on behalf of Iceland, to compensate depositors in the UK branch of Landsbanki up to the Euro 20,887 minimum provided for under Icelandic Law and the EU Deposit Guarantee Directive (90/19/EC).

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Government of Israel's suspension of strategic dialogue with the United Kingdom during the visit of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, William Hague, to Israel and the Occupied Territories.

Lord Howell of Guildford: During his recent visit to the region, both my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary and his Israeli counterpart expressed their appreciation for the breadth and intensity of official exchanges between the two Governments and affirmed their shared commitment to an early meeting of the high-level UK-Israel strategic dialogue.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what impact Israel's suspension of strategic dialogue with the United Kingdom has had upon plans for a change in the law on Universal Jurisdiction.

Lord Howell of Guildford: During my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary's recent visit to the region, both he and his Israeli counterpart expressed their appreciation for the breadth and intensity of official exchanges between the two Governments and affirmed their shared commitment to an early meeting of the High-Level UK-Israel Strategic Dialogue.
	My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary made clear during his visit to the region that changes to universal jurisdiction legislation in the UK, are expected to be in place next year but we will continue to do it to our own timetable.

Israel

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of Israel to develop financial packages to help settlers in the occupied territories to start up residence in Israel proper.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Our view is that all settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is illegal. We look to the Government of Israel to take all necessary steps to prevent settlement construction. However, we do recognise that tough compromises will need to be made by both sides. We will continue to support ongoing efforts and stand ready to assist the implementation of an agreed solution.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they next expect to meet the Government of Israel about the release of those Palestinian detainees held in detention without due process.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We continue to monitor the situation with regard to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. We look to the Israeli Government to ensure that all cases are reviewed in court in accordance with fair procedures and that detainees' rights are upheld. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities as and when we judge it appropriate.
	Since 2009 UK officials have also attended military court hearings on key cases on a regular basis. The UK works with other EU countries to ensure that EU diplomats attend key court hearings for human rights defenders.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they next expect to meet Israeli officials about concessions on stopping settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Lord Howell of Guildford: UK officials are in regular dialogue with the Government of Israel about these issues. We also raise them regularly at ministerial level. Most recently my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary discussed these points with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Lieberman and Defence Minister Barak during his visit to the region.

Lisbon Treaty

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that any change to the Lisbon Treaty to accommodate enhanced European Union economic governance will be ratified by Parliament only after primary legislation has been introduced and given adequate time for consideration by both Houses.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Under the terms of the EU Bill introduced into Parliament on 11 November, the ratification of any treaty change under the ordinary or simplified revision procedures will require an Act of Parliament. Our intention is to use the mechanisms in the EU Bill for any future treaty changes.

Middle East Peace Process

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to propose new initiatives through the European Union's membership of the quartet on the Middle East to assist the Middle East peace process.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We will continue to work with the EU as part of the quartet to drive forward progress on the Middle East peace process in support of US-led negotiations. We want to see negotiations proceed as soon as possible. We do not propose substantive new initiatives but believe the international community, including the quartet and the EU, have an important role to play in supporting the US and the parties.

Muslim Women's Network UK

Baroness Afshar: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in light of the announcement on 14 October of the closure of the Women's National Commission, what assessment they have made of the impact of this closure on the Muslim Women's Network UK.

Baroness Verma: An equalities impact assessment on the decision to close the Women's National Commission (WNC) and replace it with a new approach to engaging and listening to women is available on the Government Equalities Office's (GEO) website. No specific assessment has been made of the impact of the closure of the Women's National Commission on the Muslim Women's Network UK. We will be consulting on the new model in the new year.
	As part of the informal consultation leading up to this, the Government Equalities Office is meeting with a number of organisations, one of which is the Muslim Women's Network. The GEO will use these informal consultations to help shape the consultation document.

National Employment Savings Trust

Lord German: To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision exists for the National Employment Savings Trust to provide pensions schemes for those who wish their money to be invested in an ethical manner.

Lord Freud: The investment strategy for the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) is the responsibility of the NEST Corporation. The NEST Corporation's primary duty is to run the scheme in the interests of scheme beneficiaries. The corporation will decide its approach to investment strategy and is responsible for determining the fund choices on offer. Fund choices are currently under consideration and the NEST Corporation anticipates making an announcement in the next few months.
	In 2009, NEST's predecessor body, the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority, conducted a public consultation on how NEST should invest its members' money. Respondents to the consultation question on whether NEST should offer an ethical or socially responsible investment fund were all in favour of NEST offering such a fund, as demand for these products has grown considerably in recent years. Research suggests that over 40 per cent of defined contribution schemes currently offer an ethical fund. In 2007, a DWP survey into NEST's target group found that, of those respondents who said they would make an investment choice, 29 per cent said they would invest in an ethical fund regardless of the return and 49 per cent said they would invest ethically if the returns were equal to other investment types.

NHS: Funding

The Duke of Montrose: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State, Simon Burns, on 18 October (HC Deb, col 574W) on the provision of NHS funding in sparsely populated rural areas, how the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation expect the extra fuel costs for doctors and nursing staff visiting patients who are separated by long distances to be met.

Earl Howe: National Health Service revenue allocations are currently made to primary care trusts (PCTs) on the basis of a national weighted capitation formula. The formula is overseen by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA). Once allocated, it is for PCTs to use the funding to commission the services they require to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations, taking account of both local and national priorities.
	PCTs pay general practitioners (GPs) working under the General Medical Services (GMS) Contract an amount based on the GP Funding Allocation formula, which includes an adjustment for rurality. It is intended to reflect the additional costs associated with the degree to which the area served is rural. The adjustment is based on a combination of the average distance of patient postcodes from the GP practice main surgery postcode, and the average population density index values for all patients on the GP practice list.
	ACRA has been asked by the present Secretary of State for Health to look again at the impact of rurality on unavoidable differences on costs in England, as part of its future work programme. ACRA is an independent expert body that currently oversees, and advises the Secretary of State upon, the development of the PCT revenue allocation funding formula. Membership of the Committee includes individuals with relevant experience and expertise from within, and outside, the NHS. There is a balance of economists, statisticians, academics, GPs, public health professionals and NHS managers.

NHS: Waiting Lists

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report published by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death An Age Old Problem which found that one in five elderly patients have to endure "clinically significant" waits for surgery.

Earl Howe: The department has welcomed the report from the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death. The report highlights issues for the geriatricians, orthopaedic surgeons and anaesthetists that can support decision-making and improve the quality and outcomes of care for older people, including those who present with hip fractures.
	Significant progress has been made to reduce operating delays. The National Hip Fracture Database, which collected data in the year to 31 March 2010, found that 80 per cent of patients with hip fractures received surgery within 48 hours of admission. To further promote quality of care, the department has introduced a best-practice tariff, which from 1 April 2010 offers financial incentives to National Health Service trusts that meet defined quality standards, including timely surgery.

Nuclear Deterrence

Lord Morris of Aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 2 November (HL Deb, col. 1595) regarding whether the United States is prepared to share knowledge of their nuclear deterrent with the United Kingdom but with no-one else, when the Minister will write to Lord Morris of Aberavon as stated in his answer; and whether they will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Lord Astor of Hever: I have replied today and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Overseas Aid

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how much overseas aid paid (a) directly, and (b) through the European Union, reaches its intended destination; and how much is used for purposes for which it was not intended.

Baroness Verma: The Department for International Development (DfID) has rigorous systems and procedures to oversee its funding and ensure that aid delivers results for its intended recipients. DfID is robust in investigating and pursuing allegations of unintended use of its bilateral programme, and co-operates closely with partner organisations, including the EU, to ensure that aid channelled through other bodies is subject to rigorous controls. Two DfID staff members are seconded to the European Commission to work with the EU on aid effectiveness and impact evaluation.
	DfID is reviewing all its aid programmes to ensure that UK aid is effective, represents value for money and brings real benefit to the word's poor. This includes an assessment of contributions to the EU and UN organisations under the multilateral aid review.

Overseas Territories

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 28 October (WA 326), whether they will provide a breakdown by territory of the £50 million Overseas Territories Programme Costs.

Baroness Verma: Expenditure by overseas territory in 2009-10 was as follows.
	
		
			 Overseas Territory £ millions 
			 St Helena and Dependencies 22.7 
			 Montserrat 20.7 
			 Turks and Caicos Islands 4.7 
			 Pitcairn 1.8 
			 Cross-territory programmes 1.2 
			 Total 51.1 
		
	
	Full details of UK aid in 2009-10 were published in Statistics in International Development, which is available in the Library of the House and on the Department for International Development's website.
	The Government recognise their special responsibilities and international obligations towards their overseas territories, and are committed to supporting their economic development.

Parliament Square

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to remove permanent protest encampments from the grass and pavements of Parliament Square; and whether they will arrange for the area to be cleared of all detritus at some point between midnight and 6 am each night.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people, on average, spend the night on the pavements in Parliament Square.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government when the grass area in Parliament Square will be available for public protest.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The Government have been working with the Greater London Authority, the Metropolitan Police and Westminster City Council to introduce measures in a First Session Bill so that people can exercise their right to protest while ensuring that the law is able to prevent the mess and noise associated with encampments.
	The Government do not hold information on how many people spend the night on the pavements on Parliament Square. We understand from the Metropolitan Police that six individuals have permission to demonstrate on the pavements and have had conditions placed on their demonstrations which include allowing them to have up to 20 persons with them.
	The Greater London Authority is responsible for management and care of Parliament Square Garden. We understand from the GLA that the fence around the grass will come down once all repairs and outstanding legal action have been completed.

Pensions

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Wilcox on 28 October, whether taxpayers could be exposed to the risks of the BT Pension Scheme without having any influence over the investment policy; and whether they have investigated taking out insurance against this risk.

Baroness Wilcox: Risk to taxpayers from the BT Pension Scheme would only crystallise if, in the unlikely event of the insolvent winding up of the sponsoring employer (BT Group plc), the Crown Guarantee, given to BT pensioners by the Government at privatisation, was called on.
	Private pension schemes, including the BT Pensions Scheme, must be run for the exclusive benefit of their members. Investment decisions are a matter for the trustees, under the supervision of the independent Pensions Regulator. Taxpayers are not exposed to day-to-day risks from the investment decisions of the Trustee of the BT Pension Scheme.
	The scope of the BT Pensions Crown Guarantee has just been ruled on by the High Court. The Government are taking legal advice on this judgment and will decide on their next steps in due course, including the best way to manage the contingent liability.

Police: Business Interests

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many serving Metropolitan Police officers have been granted permission to have paid employment or business interests outside their current police roles.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the process for serving police officers to seek permission to have additional paid employment outside their police role; and whether police forces maintain registers of such interests.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Under the Police Regulations 2003 police officers must declare and obtain approval from their chief police officer for undertaking business interests. The regulations do not require forces to maintain registers of such interests.

Police: South Wales

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many warnings and prosecutions South Wales Police Constabulary have issued in each division for the use of incorrect or inappropriate registration plates fitted to vehicles owned or driven by magistrates or county councillors.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The information requested is not held by the Home Office.

Police: South Wales

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements the South Wales Police Constabulary has with county councillors concerning the timing and location of Partnership and Communities Together (PACT) meetings; and what is the average attendance of residents and police at the last three meetings.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The Home Office does not hold this information. This is an operational matter for South Wales Constabulary.

Post Office

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of proposals to allow credit unions access to the Post Office network.

Baroness Wilcox: The Post Office already works with credit unions, and many credit union account holders can already access their accounts at Post Offices through arrangements with the Co-Operative Bank. It is estimated that in the past six months almost 80,000 credit union transactions have been carried out in post office branches.
	In addition, our recent policy statement Securing the Future of the Post Office in the Digital Age (published November 9) was firmly supportive of a stronger link up between Post Office and credit unions and was clear that we are actively looking into ways the two can work more closely together. Further details can be found in this policy statement, which is available in the Libraries of the House and accessible on the BIS website.

Post Office: Joint Ventures

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what enquiries they have made as to whether the Irish Deposit Protection Scheme is capable of meeting any amounts due to United Kingdom depositors in respect of the Post Office's banking venture with the Bank of Ireland.

Baroness Wilcox: A UK subsidiary of the Bank of Ireland-Bank of Ireland (UK) plc-was created on November 1. This means that Post Office products under the Joint Venture with the Bank of Ireland are now regulated through the Financial Services Authority and come under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in line with other UK banks and building societies.

Post Office: Joint Ventures

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the circumstances in which the Post Office can terminate its joint banking venture with the Bank of Ireland; and which department holds responsibility for this venture.

Baroness Wilcox: The Joint Banking Venture between the Post Office and the Bank of Ireland is a commercial agreement between those two parties. As such it is not appropriate to disclose details of this arrangement. The Government's 100 per cent shareholding in Post Office Ltd is managed by the Shareholder Executive within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Regional Development Agencies

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the assets built up by the regional development agency for the North East in the past 10 years will be retained in the region.

Baroness Wilcox: As set out in the White Paper on local growth, RDA assets and liabilities will be transferred or disposed of in line with a clear set of principles which include a key aim of achieving the best possible outcome for the region consistent with achieving value for the public purse.

Smoking and Alcohol

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the cost to the National Health Service each year of treating individuals with alcohol- or tobacco-related diseases.

Earl Howe: The department does not maintain an annual record of the cost to the National Health Service of treating people with alcohol or tobacco-related diseases.
	However, the department reviewed the cost of alcohol-related harm to the NHS in 2008. The cost of alcohol misuse to the NHS in England was estimated to be £2.7 billion per year for 2006-07 (The Cost of alcohol harm to the NHS, Department of Health, 2008, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library).
	Academic research has indicated that the direct cost to the NHS of treating people with tobacco-related illnesses in England is £2.7 billion per annum (Callum C. (2008). Estimating the cost of smoking to the NHS in England and the impact of declining prevalencein Health Economics, Policy and Law. This report is available online at http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=1&pdftype=1&fid=7879505&jid= HEP&volumeId=-1&issueId=&aid=7879503.

Spending Review 2010

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Lord Sassoon on 20 October (HL Deb, col 831), how HM Treasury intend to calculate the maximum sustainable tax revenues from financial services; and whether this will be limited to banking or includes insurance and asset management.

Lord Sassoon: Assessments of revenues from the financial services sector, including banks, will be made in due course.

State Pensions

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have with regard to the operation of state pensions, with particular reference to the State Earnings Pension Scheme.

Lord Freud: The Government are currently considering a number of options for simplifying the state pension system. In due course we will publish proposals for state pension reform. The Government recognise the contributions people have built up, and any proposals will reflect this.

Taxation: Income Tax

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessments they have made on the estimated tax receipts of a top rate of income tax of 40 per cent, 45 per cent and 50 per cent for each of the next five years.

Lord Sassoon: The table below shows the June 2010 Budget forecast for total income tax receipts, including receipts expected at the additional rate of tax of 50 per cent (42.5 per cent for dividend income).
	The table also shows the estimated total income tax receipts where the additional rate of tax is reduced to 45 and 40 per cent (37.5 and 32.5 per cent for dividend income). These estimates take account of initial assessments of possible behavioural responses if rates were changed.
	
		
			 Total income tax receipts1 (£ billion) 
			 Additional rate of tax2 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 
			 50 per cent3 156.3 167.6 181.4 195.2 208.5 
			 45 per cent 155.8 166.5 180.3 194.0 207.2 
			 40 per cent 155.2 164.8 178.8 192.3 205.3 
		
	
	1. Gross of tax credits.
	2. Table shows additional rate of tax on total income (excluding dividends income); additional rates of tax on dividend income are 42.5, 37.5 and 32.5 per cent respectively).
	3. See Budget 2010 table C11.

Trade Unions

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total amount of public funding given to trade unions from all sources in 2007-08 and 2009-10; how much was received by each union; and what was the purpose of the funding in each case.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much public funding they expect to be given to trade unions in 2010-11 and 2011-12; how much they expect each union to receive; and what will be the purpose of the funding in each case.

Baroness Wilcox: The information sought by my noble friend will be placed in the Library of the House.

Unemployment

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage the long-term unemployed to do manual unpaid work.

Lord Freud: On 11 November 2011, the Government published their White Paper, Universal Credit: welfare that work,' in which we set out our plans to introduce Mandatory Work Activity.
	Mandatory Work Activity is designed to help customers develop the labour market discipline associated with full time employment by requiring them to undertake a placement for up 30 hours a week, for four weeks which also delivers a contribution to the local community. It will be targeted at the small number of customers who continually fail to demonstrate the focus and disciplines needed to find work.
	We are also currently developing the support we will offer through the Work Programme and to the small number of long-term unemployed customers who may require further support as they reach the end of the Work Programme without moving into sustained employment. Our approach will ensure that these customers remain engaged in meaningful activity and continue to move closer to the labour market. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Waste Management: Packaging

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions are taking place with manufacturers regarding reductions in the amount of packaging used in their products.

Baroness Wilcox: The Packaging Essential Requirements Regulations 2003 (as amended) require that packaging be manufactured so that the packaging volume and weight are limited to the minimum necessary. The government-funded Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) engages with retailers, manufacturers and trade bodies, where appropriate using responsibility deals such as the Courtauld Commitment, to drive further packaging reduction.

Wetland Farming

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what impact they forecast government-sponsored local schemes will have on increasing the use of wetland farming techniques.

Lord Henley: The Government have made no assessment of the impact government-sponsored local schemes will have on increasing the use of wetland farming techniques.